Ford 4000

[Rod Morris]

I have a '69 3 cylinder Ford 4000 (made in England). I got it in early summer and used it for bush hogging a few times. I kept it at some property at the coast about 160 miles away, so I haven't time to mess it with much. It's at home, now, so I have some projects for it this winter.
I need to change all the fluids. Does this model need an additive to the coolant to prevent cavitation from eating up the cylnders?
It won't start without ether, but I think that's a problem that can wait until next winter.
The 3 point arms will settle, and then raise, settle, etc. That doesn't bother me much, but I would fix it if it is an easy fix.
It has the independent PTO. The PTO will still turn when it's off. I can stop the PTO by hand. It works well other than that. I have the service manual on CD, and it looks like the PTO brake spring may be the culprit. How hard is that to get to?
I really like this tractor and would like to spruce it up a little.

 

[sotxbill]

Assuming that the engine has not be changed out to a newer model...

No, you dont necessarily need the coolant additive. But.. keeping good clean water with antifreeze is needed to avoid cooling system problems. The additive is cheap and you use 4 oz per gallon if you chose to purchase it, but not a big item. If you change the water pump, I would flush and put in clean water, antifreeze and the additive to get a 4 to 5 year treatment.

starting.. run a can of BG 44k injection cleaner through it. Many times you seel it start faster as clean injectors have a finer spray pattern that ignites quicker.

but.. starting requires quick spinning so a good battery and good clean cables can often help. Ocasionally a plugged airfilter or airpath will make it crank a long time. Bottom line check all the easy stuff. clean all battery cable connections, make sure battery and starter are ok. Any battery over 3 years old is probably not the best.

pto.. freewheeling is normal, expected and usually not worth the problem to fix. If you ever pull the top cover, you can reset the brake band tightness.
hope this helps.

 

[souNdguy]

ditto what sotx said.

i'd do coolant and add the conditioner just because.

I'd also clean up the bat cables and terminals AND do a double dose of injector cleaner. you may be surprised.. it might help starting. ether addiction can go from bad to worse.

settling lift / hunting is usually a leak at the piston oring. when you fix that you an address the pto brake, if you care to...

 

[RickB]

Use of a proper coolant conditioner is important for Parent bore Ford diesels and I believe advising that it is unnecessary does a disservice. The 4000 IPTO clutch on models with 8x2 transmissions uses a brake pawl, not a brake band. There is no adjustment that can be made to the pawl, and very little wear will give the results you are having. The IPTo arrangement on Select-O-Speed equipped tractors has no brake at all.